Today we took advantage of the "warm" weather and decided to go for a longer ride today. We had to dig out some cold weather layers and left the house in Norwell towards Scituate. We basically did a long loop around Scituate, making a pit stop and surf check (it was flat) along the way. The wind was pretty fierce in a few spots (my excuse for going slow) but it was a great way to spend Saturday. We rewarded ourselves at the end with some Finagle a Bagel sandwiches. Here are a few shots from the ride.

Winter Training

It's still pretty bitter cold in Southeastern Massachusetts but on this rare snowless day, we decided to wipe the dust of the bikes and go for a mini training spin. It had been months since either of us had been in the saddle (unless you count my spin classes at the gym or Frank's trainer workouts in the basement). We went out for a little over an hour through the pot-holed streets of Norwell and Hingham. Overall it was great to get out there; the sun shown on us for a good part of the ride. I sort of kicked Frank's ass on the hills and flats which felt pretty good. I learned that my spin classes are getting me into decent shape. Frank learned that he needs to stop drinking beers and watching surf videos during his "workouts". We're both getting excited for the onset of spring and to get our butts in better shape.

Shit we did it!

It all started on a rainy day with no surf in the middle of September. Megan declared that she wanted to start road biking. She was sick of having to load up the car with "tons of gear" plus the kitchen sink, and evidentally we live in road bike heaven aka South Shore Massachusetts. Of course this made logical sense to me, using my patented "buy more outdoor gear" filter.

After a few sunny, 65 degree rides with our new Trek bikes (no not the Lance Armstrong carbon fiber "I climbed Alpe d'huez" bikes), Megan then declared, "we should do the Pan Mass Challenge." Looking at the website, Megan was a bit discouraged when we realized that we had to wait 4 months before we could register. I was a bit discouraged when I realized that we had to raise the equivalent of 16 snowboards to participate in this event. We both decided it would be a) great motivation to get in shape and b) a great chance to raise (loads of) money for a good cause. The Pan Mass Challenge annually raises money for the Jimmy Fund and therefore for cancer research.

Fast forward to mid-January (actually today). Registration was OPEN, and now was the moment of truth! Megan and I emailed back and forth during the day, settling on registering in the evening.

To celebrate the occasion, we toasted with a shot of Jose Cuervo.

Here are the vital stats:

Dates - August 2nd to August 3rd, 2008

Miles from Wellesley to Provincetown - 163

Dollars donated in 2007 - Over $33 million

Cyclists participated in 2007 - 5,100

Dollars required to be donated by Megan and Frank - $8,000 ($4,000 each)

Over the next few months, Megan and I will catalog our adventures as we train and raise money for this event on and off the bike. Please follow along with us as we collectively log thousands of miles, fix a few flats, drink a few pints and travel closer by the mile to Provincetown.